Ukraine crisis: Obama orders new round of economic sanctions on Russia

WATCH ABOVE: The U.S. and Russia take turns issuing sanctions, while Ukrainian troops have until Friday to get out of Crimea. Mike Amrstrong reports from Kyiv.

LATEST UPDATES:

• Obama orders new round of economic sanctions on Russians
• EU mulls further sanctions on Russia over Crimea
• Ukraine says naval commander released after Crimea headquarters seized
• Ukraine begins to pull troops from Crimea
• More sanctions as Canada calls out Russia for illegal annexation of Crimea

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Thursday expanded U.S. economic sanctions against Moscow, targeting 20 individuals inside and outside the government, as well as a Russian bank that provides them support.

READ MORE: Why Moldova, Estonia may feel uneasy about Russia’s actions 

Obama, warning of more costs to come for the Kremlin because of its actions in Ukraine, said he also signed an executive order that would allow the U.S. to penalize key sectors of the Russian economy.

READ MORE: Crimea crisis: Does Putin care about sanctions against Russia?

The president said the penalties were the result of “choices the Russian government has made, choices that have been rejected by the international community.”

The sanctions announced Thursday followed a first round of economic penalties levied earlier in the week on 11 people the U.S. said were involved in the dispute in Ukraine. Russia moved its military into Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula three weeks ago and has since formally annexed the strategically important region into its borders.

The U.S. has declared Russia’s incursion into Crimea a violation of international law and does not recognize its annexation of the peninsula.

EU mulls further sanctions on Russia

Russia faces further sanctions from the European Union on Thursday over its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula as tensions in the region remained high despite the release of a Ukrainian naval commander.

In an address to the German Parliament in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was readying further sanctions and that the G-8 forum of leading economies had been suspended indefinitely.

Russia holds the presidency of the G-8 and President Vladimir Putin was due to host his counterparts, including President Barack Obama, at a summit in Sochi in June.

Ukraine’s acting president says the commander of the country’s navy has been freed after being held by Russian forces and local Crimean militia at the navy’s headquarters.

Rear Adm. Sergei Haiduk and an unspecified number of civilians were held for hours after the navy’s base in Sevastopol was stormed Wednesday. Early reports said the storming was conducted by a self-described local defence force, but the statement by President Oleksandr Turchynov on Thursday said Russian forces were involved.

READ MORE: Ukrainian serviceman, fighter reportedly killed in storming of Crimean facility

The statement said Haiduk and the civilians were released, but did not give details.

The storming came hours before Ukraine announced plans to withdraw troops from Crimea, which was formally annexed by Russia this week. The annexation is widely regarded abroad as illegitimate.

Ukraine begins to pull troops from Crimea

Ukraine’s government said Wednesday it has begun drawing up plans to pull its troops from Crimea, where Russia is steadily taking formal control as its armed forces seize military installations across the disputed peninsula.

In a warning to Moscow, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden declared the United States will respond to any aggression against its NATO allies, which include neighbours to Russia.